St George clarifies strategy with wealth management reshuffle

The St George Bank group has made significant changes to its wealth management division, impacting both the investment management arm ofAdvance Funds Managementand research houseAssirt.

Under head of investments and insurance Nick Basile’s direction, the group’s investment management team, headed up by Stephen Lam - as well as Advance’s investment staff - will now fall under the umbrella of the St George’s Investment Centre for Excellence (ICE) program.

The ratings, research, and market research functions of Assirt will also now be brought under ICE control - a decision ultimately fuelling the departure of Assirt head Caroline Saunders.

The group says the structural changes resolve the issue of having both an internal and outsourced asset management capability, which was regarded by ratings agencies as an inconsistent business model.

“We were cognisant of clarifying the issue of whether we managed assets in-house or were clearly taking a ‘manager of managers’ approach. Implementation of ICE provides this clarity, as well as providing increased resources for manager selection and strategic asset allocation,” Advance managing director Kate Mulligan says.

However in previous months there has been debate within the group over moves to bring Assirt under bank control, with one side arguing the research house was better aligned with Sealcorp and the external dealer market.

“The alignment with the client base, that’s where Assirt’s strength lay,” Saunders says.